STEVENS POINT, Wis. (blugolds.com) – The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire wrestling team ended the NCAA Division III Upper Midwest Regional with a bang on Saturday with six wrestlers qualifying for the NCAA Championships.
Jared Stricker (Jr. – Ashland, Wis.) successfully defended his regional title at 174 pounds, and five other Blugolds finished in the top three of their weight class to advance to nationals.
UW-Eau Claire finished with 160.5 team points to take third place in the team standings.
The Blugold contingent heading to La Crosse in mid-March is believed to be the largest group UW-Eau Claire has ever sent to the national championships.
Izzy Balsiger (So. – Chippewa Falls, Wis.),
Tyler Fleetwood (Sr. – Fulton, Ill.),
Zach Sato (Jr. – Oswego, Ill.),
Tristan Massie (Sr. – Hillsdale, Wis./Barron), Stricker (Jr. – Ashland, Wis.),
Niall Schoenfelder (Jr. – Antioch, Ill.) all qualified for the national championships. Stricker and Fleetwood are making their third trips to the NCAA Championships. Massie and Sato are going for the second time. Balsiger is going for the first time as a Blugold and the second time overall. Schoenfelder will make his first appearance at nationals.
Balsiger booked his first trip to nationals as a Blugold by defeating UW-Stevens Point's Luca Paladino 6-5 in the 125-pound semifinals on Saturday morning. He ended up finishing as regional runner-up after an 8-5 defeat to Augsburg's Wyatt Kaczrowski.
Fleetwood fell to sixth-ranked Dominik Mallinder of UW-Whitewater 7-6 in the 133-pound semifinals. He rebounded with a 13-0 major decision in the consolation semifinals to move into the third-place match, where he clinched a third straight trip to nationals by defeating Wheaton's Anthony Zamora by 5-2 decision.
Drew Kested (So. – Sterling, Ill.) won a consolation quarterfinal at 141 pounds to start his day, prevailing by 10-0 major decision. He fell by 5-2 decision in the consolation semis to move into the fifth-place match, where he took fifth after pinning Wheaton's Cale Coppess.
Sato scored an upset in the 149-pound semifinals to earn his second career trip to nationals. The junior knocked off third-ranked Charlie Stuhl of Augsburg by 5-2 decision. He ran out to an early lead in the championship match against second-ranked Tyler Goebel of UW-La Crosse, but ultimately finished as the runner-up after an 11-8 defeat.
Colton Sund (Jr. – Prior Lake, Minn.) dropped his consolation quarterfinal by technical fall to move into the seventh-place match. He took seventh place with a 19-6 major decision to close out his season.
Massie clinched his second straight trip to nationals with a victory in the 165-pound semifinals. He took down seventh-ranked Brayden Peet of UW-Whitewater in a 6-5 sudden victory to advance to the finals. He finished in second place after a 4-1 overtime loss to eighth-ranked Noah Leisgang of UW-La Crosse in the finals.
Stricker earned a third straight trip to nationals with a straightforward 7-0 win over UW-La Crosse's Eddie Simes in the 174-pound semifinals. He repeated as Upper Midwest champion when Augsburg's Seth Goetzinger submitted a medical forfeit prior to the finals.
Schoenfelder fell to eighth-ranked Marcus Orlandoni of UW-La Crosse in the 184-pound semifinals. The junior bounced back with a 4-1 decision in the consolation semifinals to reach the third-place match, where he edged UW-Whitewater's Gavin Kohel by 5-3 decision to advance to nationals for the first time in his career.
Schichel pushed second-ranked and unbeaten Michael Douglas of UW-La Crosse to the brink in the 285-pound semifinals, but ultimately came up just short in a 4-1 sudden victory in overtime. He maintained that high level in the consolation semifinals, where he picked up a 4-2 decision victory to advance to the third-place match. The third-place match went to double overtime, where Schichel fell 5-2.
The NCAA Championships are set for March 15-16 in La Crosse, Wisconsin.
